A MISTAKE in the building of an Arborfield roundabout which saw costs spiralling out of control will be paid for by money saved for repairs to the village’s roads.

The roundabout at Arborfield Cross was the subject of a huge council blunder last July when contractors built the road too narrow for lorries to pass, forcing them to take an extra three months to realign a lay-by in Eversley Road.

The project has cost almost £1 million – some £117,000 over budget – and the council’s executive committee is set to agree to pay for the overspend with section 106 money when it meets at Shute End tomorrow (Thursday).

Cllr Gary Cowan, district councillor for Arborfield, called the move “insensitive”, adding he had serious concerns about money being taken from other repair projects.

And Geoff Futcher, who owns Arborfield Stores in Eversley Road and claims to have lost £130,000 in trade during the roundabout project, said it was “a disgrace” the taxpayer was left footing the bill.

Cllr Cowan told The Times: “I’ve been trying to clarify exactly what the money was going to be used for. My concern is that the overspend may mean other things won’t be done.

“I’ll certainly be speaking about that on Thursday. I need to establish what the money was identified for.

“The money should have been earmarked for other projects and now the villagers are going to lose out.

“The villagers have done nothing wrong and the purpose of section 106 money is to give them something back after a major development.

“To use the money for an overspend is insensitive.”

The roadworks took eight months to complete, causing misery to shopkeepers who claim to have lost thousands of pounds because customers were avoiding the village’s traffic jams.

An investigation by the council has been ongoing since last year to find out who was at fault for the miscalculation, but the results will not be known for another two months.

Mr Futcher, said: “Speaking as a business ratepayer and a council taxpayer, this is a disgrace and a total waste of money.

“They had computer software that would have shown the radiuses needed for lorries to cross the roundabout.”

Liz Reed, landlady of The Bull pub, which sits on the corner of the roundabout, claims to have lost at least £40,000 in takings and said she was not surprised the project ran over budget.

She said: “We’re still waiting for our compensation meeting that we were told was going to happen back in October.

“I’m not surprised it cost so much.”

Cllr John Burch, of Arborfield Parish Council, said: “If we are going to lose out the parish council would be very disappointed.

“It was bad enough the roundabout took an extra three months without the villagers having to lose out again.”

Despite repeated calls by The Wokingham Times, Cllr Anthony Pollock, the council’s executive member for transport, declined to comment.